


You're Overrated

by Ryanzurafa, screaming_teen



Category: Original Work, not fandom
Genre: M/M, pursuing
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-16
Updated: 2017-04-16
Packaged: 2018-10-06 01:57:03
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,328
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10322897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ryanzurafa/pseuds/Ryanzurafa, https://archiveofourown.org/users/screaming_teen/pseuds/screaming_teen
Summary: Zach was a popular guy sleeping with whomever he wanted, except for one person. His best friend. He's tried many times to catch his eye, but to no avail, as Jeremy is both stubborn as he is attractive. Parties, guys, and drama could lead to something beautiful or horrifying.





	1. When Life Was Normal

**Author's Note:**

> thanks to my friend Kylie for helping with the Grammar.

A boy sticks his head out of the Choir room and looks around to see if anyone is nearby.

“The coast is clear,” he smirks and walks out of the room while zipping up and buttoning his pants. “We should do this again,” he turns around noticing that the other boy is following him out. He puts his hand on the boys chest and pushes it back, before reaching to close the door behind him. “Just wait 15 minutes to leave and wait until after I’m gone,” he winks and gives the kid a small smirk. The door shuts slowly as the kid hesitantly agrees,

“But i have P.E.” He hears these words faintly spoken as the door comes to a full shut. Walking down the hall, he freezes when turning the corner. His name rings out,

“Zach Marlow what are you doing here?! Shouldn't you be in class?” The startled boy steps back,

“Ms. Pine I.. was just..”

“ ‘Was just’ what Mr. Marlow? It seems that you are coming from the direction of the arts department... Which is quite funny knowing you aren't particularly talented.” She sneers.

“Well I was just checking out the choir room, and may I just say the vocals in there were amazing.” He smiled, “Now I really should be getting to class before I'm late.” She had no patience to deal with him any further and allowed him pass by her. He walked into homeroom, finding his friend at the back corner table. He went and sat down next to him.

“You slept with someone didnt you?” The disapproving tone came from the boy that had been sitting there.

“C’mon Jerr-Bear, don't sound so upset.” He spoke before whispering, “I thought of you the whole time.” He gave the boy his legendary golden smirk that could have appeased a rampaging gorilla.

“I'm not upset. I just want to know who the tainted meat was this time.” Jeremy spoke while reading the class assigned book; the same book they had to read in middle school.

“Tainted? Y’know, you can be so cruel sometimes. What's wrong with having a little fun in high school?”

\----

They both were very different people. Zach was easy going, hot, and popular; He’d always been. He could charm the pants off of anyone, literally. On the other hand, Jeremy was very calm, smart, and super attractive as well. He was popular in such a way that people wanted to be friends with him, but were too intimidated too try. Of course, being the person he was, Zach tried. A lot. So much so, that they spent so much time together, they just became best friends.

\----

“So… Who was it?” Jeremy woke up Zach from his daydream.

“Oh um…” Zach’s ears turned red, “Ummm…”

“You forgot his name didn't you?” Jeremy, obviously pissed, asked.

“RICKY, HIS NAME WAS RICKY!” Zach practically yelled with relief. “Why do you always want to know who they are anyway?” The confused tone prevalent in Zach’s voice.

“Honestly, you are a perfect magnet for luring out every guy who's into dudes or questioning, but at this rate you're gonna convert the whole school!” This caused Zach to smirk,

“Jealous?”

“You wish.” Jeremy said with no emotion in his voice.

“I do.” Zach says faintly.

*Bell Ringing*

Zach gets ready to walk out of class, but waits behind a little just so he could watch Jeremy's ass as he walks out.


	2. Party Invite

Zach headed towards his next class filled with dread Knowing the fact that he had to go to math class.  
“Hey… dude! Zach!” A voice came from down the hall, causing Zach to mentally sigh. He didn’t know if he had the energy to talk to his overly excitable friend Barry today. The small blond boy ran up to Zach holding his phone out, pushing it in Zach's face. “So did you get invited!? I just did!” He practically shouts, smiling ear to ear. Zach’s phone beeped right that second, he pulled it out of his pocket and read it. 

John: Hey party saturday night, bring boos or babes to get in. And since this is my 10th party this year if you don’t know where I live by now then just don't come.

He put his phone back in this pocket and smirked.  
“Well looks like I am”   
“Sweeeet! Are you gonna bring Jeremy?” Barry asked  
“Nah, Jerr-Bear doesn't really like parties. So he probably won't go for it, but i’ll still try.” Zach said with a devious smile. Barry’s head twisted to see someone else he wanted to talk to.  
“Alright, well I’ll see you there!” Giving a small laugh, he ran off. Zach walked into his math class, and automatically sat next to jeremy. He noticed he was reading the same book. Zach laid his head on the table facing Jeremy and smiled. Jeremy looked over and asked calmly,   
“Tell me, how did we end up with four of the same classes?”   
“I have some connection with some of the T.A’s in the office, why? Don't you want to be near me?” Zach made a overdramatic sad face as he finished speaking.   
Jeremy turned back to his book letting his curly blonde hair sweep around his eyes,   
“Oh shut up. But seriously why P.E?”  
Zach, with his devious grin, brought his head up,  
“That’s easy, because I get to watch you change.” Jeremy laughed, smile gleaming,   
“What if you can't handle what you see?” Zach’s ears went red at the thought.  
He was about to to respond when the bell rang and the teacher started talking. But that wasn't stopping Zach from communicating. In the middle of class, jeremy’s phone started vibrating. 

Doofus (Zach): Hey so there's a party saturday night and i wanted to know if you wanted to go?

Jerr-Bear: Yea, i mean, i got invited. claire wants me to go too, so i guess.

Doofus: sweet, see ya there ;)

Class ended and they started walking to P.E. “You know it's the first day of the semester. You should really pay attention more, so you can start off good. Then you won't need me to tutor you so much like last semester.” Jeremy said sternly as he read and walked.   
“But I like it when you tutor me, having you alone in a room just feels right don't ya think?” Zach states confidently.  
“I felt something last time I was there, that’s for sure.” They walked into the gym and went to grab their assigned clothes from the coach who was sitting at the table with the various sizes of shirts and shorts. They then walked over to their new assigned lockers that, to Jeremy's distaste, was right next to Zach’s. Zach, of course, couldn't have been any happier. The coach peeked their head in and yelled out,   
“BE ON THE FIELD IN 5!” And closed the door. Jeremy started undressing, but began to feel embarrassed when he noticed he was the shortest guy in there. He hated being 5’6, he felt too short and he thought that just wasn't fair. Zach. on the other hand, was 6’0 and didn't understand his pain.  
Zach opened his locker and looked over at Jeremy, who had already taken off his shirt. He was instantly mesmerised by Jeremy’s soft supple skin and how his body was so naturally beautiful. He knew Jeremy doesn't do diets, or anything similar, so why does his body look that good? And then he started taking off his pants to reveal his great ass shaped by his underwear. In that moment, Zach could feel himself getting aroused. He immediately sat down on the bench behind him and in doing so, made Jeremy look back at him in confusion.   
“Aren't you gonna get changed” he asked turning towards Zach, still 90% naked, which was not helping Zach in the slightest. With his ears being redder than Elmo, he answered.   
“Uh yea, but just go on ahead without me” he said nervously  
“Why?” Jeremy asked in a concerned tone.  
“Please, just go, I'm thinking.” Zach said with a rushed attitude. Jeremy laughed putting on his new gym clothes,   
“You? Thinking?” he said with a teasing grin as we walked out. Zach, with head looking down at his hard-on, thinking to himself that this was a mistake. Calming himself down, he changed and headed out to the field.  
They performed a bunch of basic workouts outside in the heat likes push-ups, pull ups, and crunches. While you had to do a minimum of each, all the guys turned the workouts into a competition of who could do the most. Of course, Zach joined in and was doing pretty well, since he had a fit body to begin with. Jeremy didn't join, thinking it was dumb and because he honestly was no match for the others. By the time it was over everyone was sweating except jeremy. Zach noticed.  
“Did you not even do the min?” he asked with a smile.  
“I did.” Jeremy replied with little interest.  
“Then, why aren't you sweating? It's like 95 degrees out here!”  
“I don't sweat.” Zach squints his eyes looking closely at Jeremy, saying in a playful tone.   
“I guess you don’t, you weirdo.” Jeremy, feeling embarrassed at the close attention, sped up slightly to get inside. Zach’s entered the room and got to his locker making a mental note to not look at Jeremy while he was changing. He held a stern face and began changing. As Jeremy finished he noticed Zach making a weird face while he was changing, well weirdly serious face. He watched as Zach took off his shirt, and noticed how ripped Zach was. The sweat dripped down from his black hair and Jeremy watched as it slipped down Zach’s face to his chest. Jeremy was starting to feel a strange sensation in his stomach. He had never quite felt it before, but he knew he didn't like it, especially when it was directed towards Zach. He left immediately. When Zach finished putting his shirt on, he noticed that Jeremy had disappeared. Confused, he sent Jeremy a quick text asking where he went. Jeremy responded, 

Jerr-Bear: i had to go home and finish something i'll see you tomorrow night


	3. Saturday

Jeremy waited in his room looking through his clothes, already coming up with excuses and reasons as to why he shouldn't go. How he can’t find the right clothes, how he's probably not gonna have any fun, and stuff like that. Jeremy’s continuous doubts about the party were cut short by his mom's yelling,   
“Jerr-Bear! Claire is here!” Jeremy brings his fingers to punch between his eyes, thinking about the fact that he hears that nickname way too often for it only being two people saying it. Claire walked in and went straight to laying on Jeremy's bed.   
“Hey why aren't you dressed?” she asked looking up from the bed with curiosity,   
“Well…” Jeremy starts, but is instantly cut off.   
“Oh hell no, you are not gonna ditch the party are you!?” The girl proclaims with an accusing tone.   
“Well I don't have anything to wear, and I don't really drink, so y’know. I’ll probably just be a buzzkill.” Jeremy says this while hunched over, looking down and fiddling with his thumbs.   
“Thats why im here dummy! I'm gonna get you to have a real highschool party experience, I'm gonna get you so drunk and in bed with a guy.” Claire states matter-of-factly. Jeremy's face flustered at the thought.   
“I’m not just gonna sleep with anyone, you know that! I want it to mean something. Not only to me, but the other guy too. I don't want to be just another stop in the road…” Jeremy sat up fixing his composure. “Besides, you just want me to so I can drive you,” he says with mocking tone. Claire sat up as well, facing Jeremy.   
“Is Zach going?” she asked calmly, understanding hidden in her tone.   
“Yes… but why does that matter?” he asks confused.   
“Well you guys spend a lot of time together, so why haven’t you guys ever...? You know?” Jeremy's cheeks instantly become red.   
“Eww! What? Zach? No way! He's.. he’s an idiot!” Jeremy shouts back making Claire laugh hysterically. Jeremy quickly tried to regain his composure. “Anyways, you got the wrong idea about us. He's not even really hitting on me, he's just joking around. Flirting is his default state of being.” Claire just watched Jeremy closely, she knew the truth, even if he ignored it.   
“Okay, I get it, but you should still go. I know you'll have a fun time, so pleeeaase.” She dragged out her please, aiming her best puppy dog face at him. Jeremy stood up, regretting his thoughts that made him want to go out.  
“Sure, I'll go. Why not?” he stated making Claire jump up to hug him and start looking through his closet for clothes to wear, noticing that he definitely needed the help.

\----

Zack sings ‘The Chainsmokers: Closer’ badly in shower while eating a bologna sandwich. He gets halfway through the song when he gets a text on his phone from Barry

Barry: Hey i need a big favor! I kinda need a ride to the party so pleeeeeeease

Zack made a humorously tired expression. Rolling his eyes, he sent a quick text agreeing. Since his phone was already in his hand, he took a quick picture of himself from his waist up. He sent it to Jeremy, asking if he was still going. Within the same minute his phone vibrated with a reply,

Jerr-Bear: YOU IDIOT!WHY DO YOU HAVE A SANDWICH?? THAT'S NOT SANITARY OR NORMAL!?!?

He laughed and was going to send another text when his phone vibrated again.

Jerr-Bear: Yes i'm still going.

\----

Zack gets out of the shower, changes and then just starts playing on his Xbox 360. When he heard Barry getting dropped off by his mom, he gets up to let him in.   
“Hey, thanks so much man. I so owe you one.” Zach just walks back to his room leading Barry.   
“Nah man, you owe me two.” They sit down and start playing the Xbox, after 30 minutes, Barry speaks up with with a worry.   
“So what happens if were at the party, I need to go home and you’re uh… Busy.” This made Zach laugh.   
“Busy?” he says, as if he didn't know what the worried boy was talking about, “Could you give me an example?” Zack said humorously keeping up the facade. Barry was starting to feel nervous.   
“Well, let's say you’re hooking up with Jeremy, but i have to go home. What am I supposed to do then?” Zack eyebrows went up as he turned to the boy, the surprise taking over his face.   
“Uhh me and Jeremy don’t hook up?” he said intently. Barry made a confused face,   
“But you’re always flirting with him? I thought you guys were... together?” Zach was amazed at how little he knew, but then he wondered if this is what everyone thought. He obviously slept around, so did they think that Zach was a cheater?   
“No we’re just friends, besides you know I sleao around… so what did you think I was doing?” Barry sensing he might of hit a trigger,   
“Oh well, you know, I just thought you guys were in an open relationship or something. I mean you don’t exactly treat each other like friends?” Zach was starting to show more annoyance,   
“What's that supposed to mean?” Barry, only further digging his own grave,   
“Well you gave him that cute nickname and only ever flirt with each other. Like I've never heard you guys have a real conversation.” Zack was mad. Not only because Barry, who’s he’s doing a favor for, would say this, but that he wasn’t exactly wrong. They never did have a real conversation and a lot of the time Jeremy pushes him away. Zack looked at the time to see it was time to go.   
“My first favor, is for you to shut up until we get to the party.” Zach says angrily walking out of his room as they headed to his truck.

\----

Claire looks out of the car window silently, until she couldn't help herself to meddle in Jeremy’s affairs anymore.   
“So.. you’d never even give Zach a try?” Expecting Jeremy to swerve, but only to leave the car in silence. After what seemed like forever, he let’s out a sigh,   
“When I first met Zach, I thought he was annoying. But then I got to know him… and he turned out to be really annoying. But also sweet… and sincere… sometimes, but then he just goes back to sleeping with any guy around that'll let him… and it's like…it's like. I'm not someone he wants, but just the guy who puts up the most resistance. Sometimes, I think he wouldn't even talk to me if I let him sleep with me.”   
It was easy to tell how much this thought had gone through Jeremy's head. These thoughts that couldn’t be confirmed, are now fact to Jeremy. It's something he lives by.   
“Y’know. From the way you talk about him… I think you should give him some more credit.” Claire says sternly “Now from what I've heard, it that he usually drops guys right after sleeping with them?” Jeremy just silently nods his head. “It seems to me like he doesn't ever pursue the guys that say no a first time, so you… seem to be special, you ever think why?” Jeremy sullenly hunches over in his seat watching the road.   
“Well what if I did give him a chance? How would I even go about that?” His slouching continues, making him look like a little old lady to other drivers.   
“Go about it like a regular person, dummy. You wait for them to flirt, and then you flirt back and let it flow from there.” Jeremy fixes his posture holding his confused face.   
“That seems a lot more easier said than done… Besides, wouldn’t it be weird if I did a complete personality change? Anyway, I never said that I liked him.” Claire lust looked at Jeremy and smiled.


	4. Party

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i think i cursed a lot in this chapter and i don't think iv'e done that at all in the earlier three so yea... enjoy.

Zach got out of his truck and looks over at Barry, breaking the long silence held on the drive over.   
“Hey! I'll see you inside.” Barry, didn’t respond, only thinking about his previous question of how he gets home (since it was never actually discussed). Zach texted Jeremy telling him he was there and asked if he was there as well. After waiting two minutes, he realized Jeremy was probably driving. Since Jeremy was the kind who didn’t text and drive, he decided to walk in the house. The thought that was bugging him the whole drive over stuck in his head. About how mad Jeremy is gonna be when he finds out that everyone thinks they're together. Jeremy can usually take it, and just goes with it… but there are certain boundaries.   
Zach had never actually explicitly touched Jeremy on purpose without his consent. He would even tone down his flirting if Jeremy actually showed any signs of discomfort. But… things like people talking behind his back, especially about something like this, just doesn’t sit right with him. Zach went to get some booze, to take the edge off. He would make his rounds around the house, but it was honestly a really big place and it’s way too easy to get lost. The house easily had 20 rooms and way too many hallways. The more Zach walked around drinking, the more and more cups he went through. His buzz kept him distracted and that’s all that mattered to him. Around the time Jeremy arrived, Zack was on his 3rd shot and 5th beer.

\----

Jeremy walked into the house, the music was loud and the people were loud. Jeremy could handle it, but right now he just wanted to find Zack. He walked through a few hallways looking for him, sending a few texts wondering where he was. It started getting late and Jeremy was beginning to give up on finding him. When he finally made it to the backyard, and opened the pool house door, he spotted Zach in the back of the room drinking with a group of people that he had never seen before.   
He walked over, grabbed him, and pulled him outside. They stood a little ways from the house and because of how cold it was outside, Jeremy was shivering.   
“Hey what's with you? Why did you… Grab me…” Alcohol was very present on his breath, making Jeremy step back.  
“I've been trying to fin…” Jeremy immediately was cut of by Zach, continuing his drunken ramble,   
“Y’know what I found out today?” his words were slurred.   
“What?” Jeremy asked, slightly confused,  
“That… That people think we are a couple. US! HA!” Zach laughed, Jeremy did not. Watching Zach laugh hurt the smaller boy, but he kept his composure.   
“They thought we were a couple? Who’s they?” Jeremy hated people talking behind his back, Zach knew this.   
“Don’t worry Jerr-Bear, I set it straight. I told them that would never happen.” So many things were going through Jeremy's head. He was really holding back the pain, but it was hard for him. Zach continued, unaware of his friends mindset. He could barely hold himself up, let alone be aware of his surroundings. “I mean how could it? Right? We are… We’re… not even really friends.” And with that Jeremy’s fight to stop himself from crying failed. It was as if he was just sucker punched and he couldn't breath. The tears started coming down Jeremy's face and he couldn't help it. Zach finally noticed and couldn't figure out why Jeremy was crying but it made him mad.   
Zack wanted to take whoever they were down, but instead of phrasing it that way it came out as “I’ll… kick ass.” Jeremy was confused, tears still streaming down his face, and didn't know what to say.   
“Hey! What's going on over here?” A voice came from a tall guy near the pool house, he got closer, only to find Jeremy crying. “Hey are you alright? Did he, did he do that to you?” When he got closer Jeremy saw that it was Josh, the basketball team captain. He approached and got right in between Jeremy and Zach. He gave Jeremy his letterman jacket, after noticing how cold he was, as well as his full attention. “It’s ok, you can tell me. I won't let him near you.”  
It seemed to Jeremy like the force coming from the guy’s tone could stop three guys from getting near him all at once. Jeremy just nodded his head in response. “Do you want me to hurt him?” Jeremy shook his head no quickly, but he didn't know why. Zack was an asshole, who didn’t even give a shit about him anyway. But… he didn't want him hurt. He still cared for him. “Okay,” The tall boy said kindly. He stuck his hand out to Jeremy, “Come on. Let’s get you inside, away from him.”   
Jeremy grabbed his hand and started to walk away with him. When Zach noticed, he got angry. He saw Josh as a threat to Jeremy, someone he needed to protect him from. He put his hand on Jeremy’s shoulder, trying his best to not lose balance and consciousness. Josh turned to Zach, ready to deck him, but Jeremy stopped him by squeezing on his hand and shaking his head. Jeremy then looked back at the drunken mess,   
“Zach. Stop. Please.” Zach immediately put his hands up in the air backing off. In doing so, he tripped on a rock, falling on his ass. Jeremy turned his attention back to Josh, nodding his head to signal that he was ready to go. Josh lead Jeremy through the house to one of the bedrooms, turned on the light, and sat down at a reasonable distance. He gave Jeremy time to calm down, before he spoke again.   
“So did you guys like… breakup?” Josh was trying to create an honest and accepting mood. Jeremy sensed this and took in a deep breath,  
“How could we break up if we weren't even together in the first place?”  
“Wow, harsh.” The taller boy sounded really sympathetic, trying to deepen Jeremy's’ comfort through his honesty.  
“You know, you didn't have to save me.” Jeremy says finally gaining back full composure, “I can take care of myself.” His humorous tone rang out as he raised his small arms and fists up, making Josh laugh.   
“I know it's just…” Josh looked into Jeremy's eyes, scratching the back of his head, “I can't help but intervene when someone makes a guy as pretty as you cry.” Jeremy blushed. He’d never actually gotten a good look at Josh before, outside it was way too dark and the few minutes he was crying inside, he was looking down. Now that he was actually looking at the guy, he saw that he was really attractive.   
“Thanks. For helping me. Even if only for the reason that you think I’m good looking. Honestly, thank goodness I'm not ugly, or you would've left me there to cry.” Jeremy said, sarcastically poking fun at the caught off guard boy. Josh laughs more feeling embarrassed,   
“That's… That’s not what I meant at all.” He says with a shy grin, making Jeremy smile.   
“Well, it looks like you’re starting to feel better.” said the attractive captain. Jeremy was feeling better actually, but Zach couldn’t have felt more like shit. 

\----

Zach got up, freezing from sitting down for so long. He walked over to the house to get something from the kitchen, hoping to find something that could sober him up. He bumped into some people on the way, but made it through pretty unscathed. He somehow ended up practically laying in the pantry, eating slices of bread and drinking some bottled water that was weirdly stored there. It took about an hour before he was basically sober enough for any real human interaction. He sat up, looking at his phone only to see all the unread messages from Jeremy.

Jerr-Bear: hey i’m here 

Jerr-Bear: hey i need to talk to you 

Jerr-Bear: it’s really important

Zach kept reading the messages and with each, he just kept feeling worse, the memories of what had happened flooding his head. He wished that he didn't remember any of it, but sadly he did.   
“Fuck!” he stated out of anger into nothing but an empty pantry. A single tear manages to break through and slip down his cheek, he sat there for awhile before having the door suddenly open.   
“What are you doing here?” Zach looks up recognizing the familiar face,  
“Claire?” She squats down,   
“Yeah hey Zach. Where’s Jeremy?” She says with a more serious tone,  
“I fucked up.” He says matter-of-factly with a defeated face. Claire, with a full serious attitude, grabs him by the collar.   
“What the fuck does that mean? Where the hell is Jeremy? What did you do?” Zach looks down at the ground,   
“You want me to answer those in order?” He asks, keeping his gaze away from the angry girl.   
“This isn’t some joke Zach!” She says immediately.  
“Listen, I know… I don’t know where Jeremy is, but I know he's with Josh Howard.” Claire made a mental note. “I got drunk. I mentioned how people thought we were together and I think… I laughed? I mean… I don’t think that’s the part that made him cry though.” He says unsure of himself.   
“He cried?” she said surprised.   
“Yeah. I think when I mentioned that we weren't really friends…” Claire showed obvious signs of anger, not letting him finish.   
“What!? So wait, you’ve just been stringing him along?!” She was ready to deck Zach, not an uncommon desire tonight.   
“No, no, no, it was taken out of context… Kind of. Uh… Someone told me that Jerr and me didn’t really seem like actual friends. And since then, I've been thinking about that. Alot.” Claire shakes her head and rolls her eyes.   
“You really are an idiot.” Claire says sternly.   
“How’s that?” Zach says confused.   
“Listen, I don’t know if you know this… but Jeremy doesn’t exactly have a lot of friends.” Zach nods his head,   
“Yeah I know. Most people are like… intimidated by him, for some reason?” Claire also nods.   
“Right. Their loss. Anyway, Jeremy holds his friends really closely. With the way he talks about you, I'm pretty sure you just broke his heart.” Zach found it interesting how much worse he could feel. However, even with the overwhelming guilt eating away at him, his face perked up for a second,   
“How does he talk about me?” Zach asked, making Claire let out a sigh.   
“Most of the time he hides how he feels… but with you, he lets things slip without even meaning to. He’s always so happy when he talks about you.” Hearing that made Zach smile a bit. “To be honest, I think he likes you. Like likes likes you.” Zach eyebrows went up,   
“Really?!” The sad boy says hopefully.   
“Yeah, but if you don’t like him back and you string him along… I'm gonna skin you alive.” Zach couldn’t tell if she was joking or not.   
“I wouldn’t do that to him. I just… never expected him to actually like me back.” Claire smiled,   
“So you do like him?” Zach nodded furiously,   
“Yeah, I feel like I’ve been pretty forward about it?” Claire made a small laugh standing up, sticking her hand out,  
“Why don’t you tell him that yourself?” Zach grabbed her extended hand and was pulled up. He knew that there was a lot to say to Jeremy, but he also knew he needed to fix this, no matter what. He walked through the house looking for him and was walking near the bedrooms when he froze. He could see Jeremy at the end of the hall, leaving a room with Josh. Jeremy was wearing the guys jacket, but Jeremy didn’t usually sleep with people he just met.   
Hell, he doesn’t sleep with people at all, so why was he leaving a room with Josh? What made him different… better than Zach? They’ve known each other for like an hour and a half? These thoughts were filling Zach's brain, blinding him from the truth. He was getting mad. He couldn’t stop his thoughts and found himself running towards them. He got to the two boys quickly, hearing a very faint,   
“Zach?,” before punching Josh in the face. Josh got knocked back and hit the wall, but immediately retaliated, tackling Zach to the floor. He fully mounted him and then began punching Zach in the face. Zach used his leg to push his lower body up and make Josh fall off. They both got up and went to sucker punch each other in the gut. Jeremy gets in the middle to stop them, only to be punched by both of the boys.   
By this time people were already crowding around, both boys immediately stopped to check on Jeremy. He was holding his sides, crouched over on the floor. Claire shoved through the crowd pissed, she pushed both the boys away, before helping Jeremy to his feet. She glared intensely at both the boys before walking Jeremy out to his car and taking him home. Zach was pissed at himself, but found Barry amongst the crowd, taking him home as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> anyone want to leave a comment on what they like? I'm interested.


	5. The After Math

Jeremy woke up around noon, checking his phone to find it was filled with texts from both Josh and Zach. There was a weird difference between these texts though. Josh texted three very long paragraphs about how he should have never punched Jeremy, while Zach texted nineteen separate sentences about how he fucked up in general that night and needs to talk to Jeremy.   
Jeremy let out a groan thinking about how much he didn’t want to deal with this. He didn’t like dealing with matters like this, and when he stood up he felt pain burst from his sides. Slowly, he walked over the the bathroom mirror and picked up his shirt. There were two very large bruises on his lower abdomen. Another groan escaped from the annoyed boy as he got in the shower.   
After cooling off in the shower he decided to take the plunge and actually answer one of the boys. He answered Josh first, replying that other than two giant bruises he was fine. Within the same minute Josh replied,

Josh: “I BRUISED YOU?!?!” 

Jeremy didn’t think about how that knowledge would actually affect Josh, and just a second later he was getting facetimed by Josh. The shock of that made Jeremy practically drop his phone. Getting his grip back, he took a second before answering.   
“Alright just show me! I have to see it!” The boy says hysterical worry dancing in his voice. Jeremy went to grab his shirt, before a feeling of slight embarrassment came over him. He knew he wasn’t undressing for him, but he sure did feel like he was. Jeremy lifted his shirt showing his war scars as he liked to think of them.   
“Oh my god… Oh fuck, I really hurt you…” Josh said with a heavy onslaught of guilt in his voice.   
“You know you didn’t kick a puppy right?” Jeremy says trying to ease the tense air,  
“No, I just punched one in the gut.” Josh says hysterically loud.  
“I'm fine. Trust me.” Jeremy says with a reassuring smile, making Josh feel better.   
“Hey… I know it might be weird to ask, but do you want to hang out today?” Josh asks out of nowhere, leaving Jeremy not knowing what to say.   
“Uhh… Sure” Jeremy felt a little awkward, but Josh face glowed with happiness.   
“Great! Do you want to come over here?” Jeremy felt even more awkward, he’s never been asked over to a boys house, not even to Zach’s.   
“Uhh…” Jeremy’s hesitation obvious, Josh quickly corrected himself,  
“How about I just go to your house? Is that okay?” Josh says with a smile, releasing a lot of pressure off of Jeremy’s shoulders.   
“Sounds good,” Jeremy says with a smile back. About an hour later he heard a knock at the door and rushed to answer it before anyone else, since his family can be pretty embarrassing. Opening the door, he saw a exhausted Josh on his porch.   
“Are you ok?” said Jeremy confused.  
“Yeah, I just… I thought I would run here.” He said with heavy breathing.   
“Don’t you live on the other side of town?!” The blonde says while waving the tired boy inside,   
“No… More like the middle, ha” said Josh walking in. They got only a few steps in before both of Jeremy’s parents had caught them,   
“Well who is this tall drink of water?” asked Jeremy’s mom loudly making Jeremy blush   
“Mooom!... His name's Josh.” the embarrassed boy replied. Jeremy’s dad walks up to the boy, both equal in height,   
“So. You and my boy hanging out now?” He says with a very masculine tone. In the background, Jeremy can be heard quietly,   
“oh god, here we go.” Josh answers with no falter.   
“Yes sir.” His tone very respectful.   
“What are your intentions with my baby?” Again causing Jeremy to speak off to the side,   
“I'm seventeen!” Josh spoke up again,  
“I just want to get know your son, sir.” Jeremy’s dad slowly nodded his head,  
“Ok, but if I hear any funny business, I want you to keep in mind… I have a gun.” Josh head just nodded as Jeremy’s dad left the room. Jeremy grabbed josh and rushed to his room. “Leave the door open!” yelled Jeremy’s dad, Jeremy rebelliously closed it. He looked back at the obviously nervous jock standing awkwardly in the middle of the room, not knowing where to sit.   
“Are you ok?” Jeremy says with a touch of amusement.  
“Uhh yea… Is it alright if I sit on your bed?” The tall boy asked. Jeremy nodded, surprised someone with his physique would have this kind of a shy side? Josh’s out of place attitude fell away as he looked over at Jeremy. “I want to see it… Again…” Jeremy impulsively walked up to Josh and stood in-between his legs. Jeremy wanted to get past this, so he wanted to show Josh what he did and get it over with as quickly as possible.   
Jeremy took off his shirt before grabbing Josh’s hand. Locking eyes, he slid Josh’s hand up his side and directed it too the bruise that Josh had caused. A slight stinging pain hit Jeremy bruise with the sudden contact, but he showed no signs of discomfort. Josh’s eyes broke from Jeremy’s and dropped to the bruise, staring at it.   
“I'm fine,” Jeremy says calmly still holding onto Josh’s hands. “I’m a fighter remember” he lets go of Josh’s hands in favor of bringing both his hands up into fists. Josh’s hand stayed, his other hand sliding onto Jeremy's hips, his face sullen.  
“This should've never happened.” Jeremy put his hand lightly on Josh’s neck, directing his attention back up to his eyes.   
“What do you mean? It’s not like you did it on purpose.” Josh nodded slowly,  
“I know… but this… this is my first time…” With this, Jeremy became aware of his shirtlessness and Josh’s hands hot against his skin.   
“Wha… What do you mean?” he asked cautiously.   
“You’re kinda the first guy I've ever talked to with any um… Interest…” Jeremy face went red,   
“Oh…” Jeremy uttered, not knowing how to respond.   
“The first guy I like and I hit him.” Jeremy was so shocked by the honesty, and how close they were. It was silent for a while. “Do you…? Are you…? Interested?” Jeremy felt blindsided, he looked away.   
“Uh, to be honest, I’m not really good at feelings.” Jeremy admitted, “But… I do like being around you.” Josh smiles and leaned his forehead on Jeremy’s stomach, causing Jeremy to feel his breath on his bare skin.  
“I can work with that.” Josh then dropped his hands and laid back on the bed. Jeremy, slightly flustered, threw his shirt back on and laid next to him. “Y’know, I’ve kinda liked you for a while now…” Josh said without any hint of irony.   
“Why did you wait so long to talk to me?” Jeremy questioned,   
“I was usually intimidated. You seemed kind of better than everyone, without even trying. You looked beautiful, so complex, I…” Jeremy let out a shocked chuckle,   
“That’s bull.” Jeremy said with an angered tone, making Josh raise an eyebrow looking over at the blonde.   
“What?” Josh says with confusion. Jeremy looks back at him,  
“Sorry, I just don’t have many friends because of that reason. It was hard. When I was growing up, too have had very little friends. If I lost someone along the way, then I would lose a lot.” The room went quiet for a moment.   
“I’m sorry.” Josh said quietly.  
“No, don’t be sorry. Just… try not to see me like that. Ok?” Jeremy says with a small with a small grin.  
“I'll try,” Josh said returning the grin. A small beeping came from Josh’s watch, “Ugh, I’m sorry, but I have to go,” Josh said disappointedly. “Can I see you tomorrow?” Josh asked as he stands up. Jeremy gets up as well,   
“Well you have P.T the same period I have P.E… so it's kinda inevitable.” Josh smiled giving a look of amusement. Jeremy opens the door, “I’ll walk you out,” he says as he gestures towards the hallway with his thumb. They got to the the front door and stood out on the porch. They looked at each other for a second, Josh looking antsy for a split second before asking confidently,   
“Can I kiss you?” Jeremy froze for a second not knowing what to think, his mouth moving before his brain could think.  
“Yeah. I would like that.” Jeremy said. Josh smiled as he walked closer and grabbed Jeremy’s waist. Pulling it right up to his own, he leaned down slightly and pressed his lips against Jeremy’s. Instinctively, Jeremy put his arms around Josh’s neck, pulling him closer. It was a simple first kiss, but it was their first. They would remember it forever.   
When they finally pulled apart, Josh was beaming. He said goodbye and started jogging home. When Jeremy got to his room, he dropped to the floor and smiled. He spent the rest of the time thinking about it in his room, unable to wipe the smile off his face. He texted Claire about it, and an unending conversation ensued. 

\----

Jeremy and Claire finished their conversation around nine o'clock, when Jeremy heard an unnecessary amount of rustling outside his window. A quaint knock came from the screen, so Jeremy walked over with confusion. He opened it to see Zach leaning on a branch.   
“Uhh… Hey.” Zach says with a guilty smile.   
“What are you doing here?” Jeremy says, mood obviously lowered.   
“Can I come in? Please?” Zach says hopefully. Jeremy takes a second before answering,   
“Sure.” Helping to take off the screen, Zach fumbled his way in. “Ok, you’re in. Why are you here?” Jeremy states, crossing his arms.  
“I'm here because you weren't answering my texts. You need to know that you didn’t understand what I was trying to say when I was drunk. People were talking about us and they said some dumb shit.” Zach felt his annoyance with Barry come up, but knew it wasn’t really his fault.   
“Yeah, I know about the us dating thing,” Jeremy interjects.   
“No, not that! Well… yeah that too. But first of all, I need to say that We. Are. Friends. Someone said we didn't seem like friends and it pissed me off. I kept thinking about it the whole time I was drinking. Even though the drinking helped a little, I couldn’t make it leave my mind and it ended up coming out in the wrong way. But you’re my friend. Actually you’re my best friend, and I can’t stand to lose you.” Jeremy stood there for a second in silence, just processing. The only thing he could think was about how he doesn't like dealing with feelings.   
“Ok.” Is all Jeremy says, all he could think to say.   
“Ok?? Well, do you forgive me? I know how you hate dealing with this stuff, but please try.” Zach spoke with true passion in his voice. Jeremy felt a little bit better about it all, but there was one thing on his mind. If he was going to forgive Zach, then he had to say it.   
“Why did you laugh when you mentioned us dating? Why did you say it would never happen? I… I thought you liked me? Or has that always just been a joke?” Zach was taken aback by those questions. He wasn’t expecting them, but he knew he had to come clean to fix this.   
“It’s never been a joke,” Zach’s tone was serious. “I laughed because I always knew you didn’t like me back. I thought that if I laughed, then it wouldn’t hurt as much when you laughed at it… at me.” It was Jeremy’s turn to be shocked, but at the same time understood. He has always pushed Zach away, so why wouldn’t Zach try defend himself.   
“Ok… I um… I forgive you.” Jeremy says with a lot of hesitation. Zach knew Jeremy was hesitant, but he was gonna work hard to make all that go away.   
“You won’t regret it. I promise.” Zach started leaving through the window, before turning back around, “I’ll see you tomorrow Jerr-bear.” With that, he left. For the first time, Jeremy was happy to hear that nickname, even if he didn’t know why.


End file.
